Beer Blotter

BEER! BEER EVENTS!

Downtown Bar and Grill in Brooklyn. Pic courtesy of www.united-nations-of-beer.com.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Stoudt’s Promo Night: Reading, Pennsylvania

7:00PM-9:00PM @ Suburban Tavern & Restaurant

Our Head Brewer Brett Kintzer and brewer Jodi Stoudt from Stoudt’s Brewing Co. made a delicious Firkin/cask of our Fat Dog Stout. This is an imperial oatmeal stout which is bourbon oak aged and has been aging with Madagascar vanilla beans inside the cask! Talk beer with Eddie Stoudt and enjoy this special brew. There will also be 2 other Stoudt’s Drafts and the full line of bottles! If you are a cigar fan this will be a great compliment to a fine maduro wrapped cigar which you can enjoy upstairs in the Suburban Tavern’s new cigar Lounge. Pint glass giveaway from Stoudt’s and more. Hope to see you there.
Cheers, Eddie Stoudt.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Dogfish Head NO SUCK Beer Event: Brooklyn, New York

5:00PM-5:00AM @ Downtown Bar & Grill

This tap list is killer. You must go here between Wednesday and Sunday if you live in one of the five boroughs of NYC and feast on these Dogfish Head beers. You honestly cannot go wrong with any of these!

DFH 60 IPA 2011
DFH 90 Imperial IPA 2011
DFH 120 Imperial IPA 2009
DFH Burton Baton Imperial IPA 2009
DFH Midas Touch Spiced Beer 2010
DFH Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew Russian Imperial Stout 2010
DFH My Anonia Imperial Pilsner 2010
DFH Old School Barleywine 2009
DFH Red& White Witbier 2009
DFH Sahtea Farmhouse Ale 2010
DFH Saison Du Buff Farmhouse Ale 2010
DFH Theobroma Chile Beer 2010
DFH WW Stout Imperial Stout 2009
Sierra Nevada Big Foot Barleywine 2008

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Firestone Walker Afternoon: Norristown, Pennsylvania

1:30PM-4:00PM @ Capone’s Restaurant

Owner and founder of Firestone Walker, David Walker will be here with 4 amazing beers.

Double Jack (Draft and 22oz bottles)
Walkers Reserve (Draft and 22oz bottles)
Abacus (Maybe on draft but at least 22oz bottles)
14th Anniversary Ale (in 22oz Bottles)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Free Pint Glass Friday with Smuttynose: Winooski, Vermont

5:00PM-1:00AM @ Winooski Beverage Warehouse

Come welcome Smuttynose to our tasting room for another edition of Free Pint Glass Friday! We’ll have samples of the flagship goodies like Finest Kind IPA and some of the Big Beers, too!

Also, you’ll be able to sign up for an awesome Give Away Prize!

Saturday, April 15, 2011

Dark Lord v. Black Cat 2: Chicago, Illinois

7:00PM-9:00PM @ Intelligentsia Roasting Works

HOLY CRAP! If I lived in Chicago………..Dark Lord by 3Floyds….a vertical tasting. Oh my…

$100

Super rare, limited, vertical stout tasting!
Amazing food, desserts, coffee & beer!
Music!
Mayhem!
You must be 21 years of age to attend, sorry kids!

A unique opportunity to taste four different vintages of Three Floyd’s Dark Lord Stout at Intelligentsia’s Chicago Roasting Works. Each attendee will enjoy a small pour (2.5oz) of Dark Lord from 2006-2010. Food bar by Michael Sheerin (Blackbird Restaurant/Three Floyds), dessert bar by Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate Restaurant), coffee bar by Intelligentsia. Only 90 tickets available! This event will sell out!

Dark Lord is the beer for which Three Floyds is most famous because it is widely rated as one of the best beers in the world. The brewery describes it as a “Gargantuan Russian Stout brewed with coffee, molasses, and honey.” It is sold only on one day per year, out of their brewery outside of Chicago. We have worked with them for the last 6 years, adding our Black Cat Espresso to the beer to give it a little extra complexity. For the last four years, we have squirreled away a case with the intention of putting on this event. A vertical tasting of this beer on this scale will never happen again! Representatives from Three Floyds & Intelligentsia will be there to chat with you about beer & coffee.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Brewery Tour with the Brewer: Bellingham, Washington

12:00PM-1:00PM @ Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen

1/3 of bb.com recently made a trip north to visit Chuckanut Brewery and was very impressed. For $5.00 you can tour the brewery and taste all of the beers on tap!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Homebrew and Bottle Collector Support Group: Boulder, Colorado

6:00PM-8:30PM @ Avery Brewing Company

Ok why haven’t we started something like this?!

Our first ever meeting was a great success!! Thanks to all those who made it with tasty homebrews and treasured bottles in hand. Hope you all enjoyed the Depuceleuse, 2008 Old Jubilation Ale and other brews that we broke out of the Avery cellars. Please plan to join us each month at 6PM on the THIRD MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH!

Group Info:
Have you ever crafted or aged a very special beer, only to serve it to a group of people that don’t know or really care what they’re drinking? It leaves you feeling hollow, right? That’s why we’re starting a monthly support group for homebrewers and collectors that meets on the 3rd Monday of each month. Bring your special beers down to the Tap Room (22oz. minimum) and open them around a group of enthusiastic and learned quaffers and revel in the time and effort that was spent crafting the beer. We’ll have the Barrel Room reserved and plenty of space to chat, sniff and taste! Each month, Avery Brewing Company will bring out a few treats from our own cellar to ensure a great selection.

This a free event, admission price is just a favorite bottle or two from your cellar or a homebrew of your own!

If you want us to write about an event or if you went to an event that you want to comment on, please email me at jess@beerblotter.com or leave a comment! Cheers!

No Brouwers? Something went wrong there.

Washington Beer Blog reminded me that Draft Magazine put out their annual 100 Best Beer Bars this week. Thanks for the reminder, Kendall. Now let me go spend two unproductive hours ogling it!

Draft Magazine is a nationally published magazine focused beer culture. They have been around since 2006, sometimes featuring celebrities on their covers. All in all, its not the nerds guide to beer. Its more of a sassy celebration of all things barley pop.

Don’t let my description drive you away. Draft Magazine is good. In fact, all 3 of the Beer Blotter writers are subscribers. We enjoy the fact that Draft presents a global expose on happenings in the beer world. Its really a good way to locate beer venues from around the world.

Just this week, Draft released its annual Top 100 beer bars list. This list is sorted geographically into 4 regions. I was afraid that they were attempting to force options for each of these regions, but it appears that the selections are not equally divided (for example, the Northeast has many more than the South).  So, it appears that the choices are without prejudice.

In scouring the list, I was very pleased to see places like Avenue Pub (New Orleans), Apex (Portland), Blind Lady Alehouse (San Diego) and our very own Monk’s hole – The Stumbling Monk (Seattle).

But, one cannot peruse the list without finding their own list of absentees. While less deserving pubs made it (i.e. Cooter Browns (New Orleans), Green Dragon (Portland), McNulty’s Bier Markt (Cleveland)), some of the nation’s most celebrated beer venues are missing.

While that absentee list will differ for each of us, here are my Top 5 Absentees:

1. Brouwers Cafe (Seattle) –  They must have pissed off a Draft Magazine writer. Many of us know that Brouwers can sometimes rub the wrong way (and its been stated by commenters here on the site), but there is no better selection of ale in the NW. Brouwers routinely procures 60 taps of rare beer, one of the best bottle lists in the country and an unprecedented number of unmatched in-house beer festivals (See Sour Fest, Hopfest, Big Wood, and Hard Liver). Again, they must have pissed someone off.

 

2. Bangers & Lace (Chicago) – This might simply be too early for Draft to call this place a winner. But, Bangers & Lace has quickly ascended to the top of the Chicago beer world. Presenting an unmatched selection of rare beer, along with phenomenal food, B&L deserves a spot. Guest writer For Whom the Bell Toales agrees that this is the #1 beer venue in Chi-town.

 

3. Small Bar (San Diego) – Ok Ok, they got it mostly right. Hamilton’s Tavern, Blind Lady Alehouse, and O’Brien’s Pub should all be on the list. But, Small Bar gives that Top 3 a run for their money. Mixing a spectacular beer selection with epic food and spunky surroundings, I think it deserved a spot above many of the LA selections.

 

4. Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH)  - Draft picked one of the many Cleveland suburb favorites – Buckeye Beer Engine. But, I think they got the wrong one. The Brew Kettle blends an incredible draft lineup (thank god for the connection with Founders), house made ales, and some spectactular bar grub. Get drunk enough? Go brew a batch in the back. Beyond that – its just a cool dark place to grab a beer.

 

5. New York’s Forgotten Trio – Ginger Man, Mug’s Alehouse and d.b.a. (NY, NY) – They picked a lot of NY spots. I can understand that its pretty tough to run into your editor’s office and say we picked the Top 100 – 20 of them are in NY. Its a tough job to pick between the excellent spots in NYC. In my mind, they got the top 3 on the list – Rattle N Hum, Blind Tiger and Spuyten Duyvil. Those three are iconic, and the three places that I spend the most time while in NY. But, the above three all deserve a shot at the list. The Ginger Man is just a few blocks from Rattle N Hum – many would say its the cooler bar. Mug’s is tucked away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But unlike the uber-hipster crowd at Spuyten Duyvil, you will find comfort at this grog spot. d.b.a. is the lone East Village fave. d.b.a. has been pouring beer for a long time and has an excellent wide spread selection.

I will say, writing the Top 5 absentees was pretty tough. All in all they did a great job finding the appropriate bars. The Top 100 is a worthy list and you should take a glance.

What else is missing!?

This place looks awesome! Brick Store Pub- pic courtesy of decaturmetro.com

A weekend full of cheesy, greasy, spicy football snacks and big beers to pair it with has led me to dedicated sessions of water ingestion and couch laying. But now for your week in beer!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Port Brewing/Lost Abbey Release Party: Decatur, Georgia

5:00PM-9:00PM @ Brick Store Pub

So this event features one of my favorite breweries Lost Abbey/Port Brewing. Tomme Arthur is a genius! Here is what you can expect beer wise tonight:

Port Brewing Wipeout IPA 7.0%

Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme Wild ale 10.0%

Port Brewing Hop 15 Imperial IPA 10.0%

Lost Abbey Amazing Grace Belgian dubbel 9.5%

Port Brewing Mongo Imperial IPA 8.5%

Lost Abbey 10 Commandments Strong Dark 9%

Port Brewing old Viscosity Imperial Stout 10.0%

Lost Abbey Inferno Strong Pale 8.5%

Port Brewing Shark Attack Imperial Red ale 9%

Lost Abbey Lost & Found Dubbel 8.0%

Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi Biere De Garde 10%

Lost Abbey Judgment Day Belgian Quad 10.5%

Lost Abbey Devotion Belgian pale ale 6.5%

Lost Abbey Red Barn Saison 6.7%

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Festival of Stouts: Cincinatti, Ohio

6:00PM-10:00PM @ Catskeller

Its cold outside, so warm up with some stouts. This list is amazing and flights are available.

Founders Breakfast Stout
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
Porterhouse Oyster Stout
Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Stout
Stone Imperial Stout
Stoudts Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Flying Dog Nitro Gonzo
Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Cigar City Night: Brandon, Florida

7:00PM – 10:00PM @ Mellow Mushroom

Cigar City- one of the most innovative breweries in the South. Tonight, the Mellow Mushroom will be tapping a cask of Humidor-Aged Improvisacion Oatmeal India Rye. Other beers will also be on tap, but they are a SURPRISE!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine Festival: Anchorage, Alaska

5:00PM-10:00PM @ Egan Center

This is one of our nation’s most epic beer festivals and here are the deets:

Tix are on sale now!
Fri Jan 14, 5-10p $35+ various Ticketmaster fees
Sat Jan 15, 2-5p connoisseurs session $45+
Sat Jan 15, 6-10p $35+

Go to  http://auroraproductions.net/beer-barley.html and click “Purchase Tickets Online”. These sessions sell out every year! So get your tix now, for yourself or as a start to your holiday shopping for beer loving friends and family!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Avery/Lagunitas Brewery Series Night: Mahopac, New York

7:00PM-9:00PM @ Holy Smoke Bbq

Avery and Lagunitas are here with 12 lines each to make sure 2011 start off with a freaking bang!! We will have some nice cask selections that night and the great array only Avery and Lagunitas can offer. We have never hosted Avery, so it’s high time we did.

This event is also admirable as all proceeds go to support the Wounded Warrior Project.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Southwest Beer Dinner: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

6:30PM-8:30PM @ Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats

Join us for one of our fantastic, fabulous and fun off-season monthly beer dinners!

Our January 2011 Beer Dinner is our Southwest dinner featuring wild game from Broken Arrow Ranch in TX.

Menu:

South Texas Antelope Tamale with Salsa Verde – Served with Theobroma

Ground Wild Boar Stuffed Pablano Pepper with Tomatillo Vinaigrette and Local Greens – Served with Indian Brown Ale

Bandera Quail on Roasted Corn Polenta with Baby Vegetables and Burgundy Reduction – Served with Pain Relieva Porter

Flan with Wild Boar Whipped Cream – Served with 2006 Vintage 120 Minute IPA

Menu subject to change due to general awesomeness and availability.

Seating at 6:30pm

$57 per person (includes gratuity)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Firestone Walker Reserve Cask Night: Rancho Santa Margarita, California

6:00PM-8:00PM @ Selma’s Chicago Pizzeria & Tap Room

Firestone Walker made a special cask of their outstanding Walker’s Reserve! It’s a Robust Porter with a 5.9%ABV; elegant dark ale featuring robust flavors of toffee, caramel and bittersweet chocolate. This brew employs five specialty malts, as well as oat and barley flakes, for added complexity and flavor. It’s smooth and oh sooo good!

Come have a taste (or two).

If you go to an event, want me to write about an event please email me at jess@beerblotter.com and Ill make sure we post about it! Cheers!

picture courtesy of citysearch.com

Happy New Year to all! Can you believe another decade has come and gone? What will this year in beer bring? Can’t wait to find out! But now, your week in beer.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Beer Geek Tuesday: Atlanta,Georgia

7:00PM-9:00PM @ Cypress Street Pint and Plate

Tonight He’brew Jewbelation 14 will be tapped.  “14″ stands for fourteen malts, fourteen hops, and fourteen percent ABV all in one glass. Hot Damn!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Founders Tapping: Chicago, Illinois

6:00PM-11:00PM @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery

This Wednesday Haymarket Pub & Brewery will be holding its first big tapping event. 12 of our taps will be taken over by Founders Brewing specialties. Hopefully this will help hold everyone over until the Pub Beers are available in the second week of January.

The final list for this event is not finalized but we should have both CBS, Black Biscuit, & Nemesis ’10 along with other hard to find kegs from our friends in Grand Rapids.

Come in and enjoy these great taps and try some of the items off of the Pub’s menu.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines: Vail, Colorado

7:30PM-10:30PM @ Vail Cascade Resort & Spa

If you love big beers, you must come have dinner with us! The 2011 event will be a tremendous treat. The original weekend event was suggested by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, and much ado has been made of them by our guests. The celebrity beer pairing dinners show off the ultimate flexibility of beer with food. The Traditional Brewmasters’ Dinner shows off our Featured Brewmasters for this year’s event, and the Calibration Dinner with Avery & Dogfish head really starts our celebration weekend off “calibrating your palate”!

For more information visit  http://www.bigbeersfestival.com/ !

Friday, January 7, 2011

4th Annual Williamsburg Cask Festival: Brooklyn, New York

1:00PM-1:00AM @ D.b.a.

Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned (including secondary fermentation) and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. Cask ale may also be referred to as real ale, a term coined by the Campaign for Real Ale, often now extended to cover bottle-conditioned beer as well.

Today, stop by D.b.a for an amazing line up of 15 rare, cask conditioned beers all on tap at once! This event will last all weekend long!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

13th Annual Ice Cold Beer Festival: Minocqua, Wisconsin

1:00PM-5:00PM @ Campanile Center For The Arts

Tickets: $25 in advance; $30 at the event

Tickets available at the Minocqua Brewing Co. & at participating Trig’s Cellar 70 locations.

Micro-Brews from around the state. Food and Music. This wonderful event benefits the Dr. Kate Hospice / Ministry Home Care.

Please call 715-356-2600 for more information. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Belgium Beer Class: Annapolis, Maryland

The Belgians have a remarkable brewing tradition, so much so that breweries all over the world work to perfect Belgian style brews. Learn about and taste some of our favorite Belgian beers from award-winning breweries in Belgium (of course) and the U.S.

Snacks and beer are provided. $30 per person.

Classes tend to fill quickly, so please make your spot reservations early. Call us at 410-571-7744 or email us at dmccabe @ punksbackyardgrill.com with questions or reservation requests. Obviously, you must be 21 years of age or older to participate.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Bell’s Hopslam Release Party:  Indianapolis, Indiana

6:00PM-11:00PM @ Beer Sellar

You know how we love Bell’s Brewing Co. and this tap list is rocking my world!

Monday, January 10, Beer Sellar Indianapolis will join Bell’s Brewery in releasing HopSlam to the market. On tap Monday will be:

Porter
Winter White
Two Hearted
Oarsmen
Amber
Pale
Double Cream
Brown
HopSlam (tapped at 6pm)
Batch 10K (tapped at 6pm)

If you go to an event, want us to post about an event or have an event for next week, email me at jess@beerblotter.com. Cheers!

Picture courtesy of directorofpeoria.com.

After Big Wood Fest this past Thursday, we dedicated this weekend to laying low (aside from the Friday night trip to a casino). We did however indulge in Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Co. (Akron, OH) B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Stout, Great Divide Chocolate Yeti and Russian River Pliny the Elder.

I sit here writing events and sipping on this delicious Cranberry Saison homebrew. Thanks guys! But now for your week in beer.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Smuttynose Short Release Party: Peoria, Illinois

5:00PM-10:00PM @ Kelleher’s Irish Pub

Several beers from their everyday lineup, plus a few from Smuttynose‘s “Short Batch Series” will be available. What is this “Short Batch Series”? See below for a description from their website:

The Smuttynose Short Batch Series- brewed in volumes anywhere between 20 and 30 barrels, these limited-release, experimental beers are available on draft only and found at select beer bars up and down the East Coast. We normally release a few batches in a year, so they go quickly.